• Italy dropped their only points in their first eight Group C games when they were held to a 0-0 draw in Belfast in the sides' last meeting on 8 October 2010, and Northern Ireland might have done better had David Healy or Steven Davis been able to convert presentable opportunities.

• Prior to this campaign, the only competitive matches between the two rivals came in qualifying for the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Italy edged their first encounter 1-0 in Rome on 25 April 1957 but lost 2-1 in Belfast in the return fixture on 15 January 1958.

• In between those meetings, the teams contested a friendly in Northern Ireland on 4 December 1957, when the score ended 2-2.

• There have been four further friendly matches since then, all of them held in Italy and all producing wins for the home side; the most recent finished 3-0 to the Azzurri in Pisa on 6 June 2009.

• Somewhat ominously, Northern Ireland have not scored in their last four games against Italy, a run which stretches back to a 3-2 friendly loss in Bologna on 25 April 1961.

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